How To Smell Like The French

How To Smell Like The French

I had always read that a pharmacy in France was not just for medicines but also for some very serious skin care and hair care. And hence when I entered a Pharmacie in Paris for the first time, I expected to be hit by a barrage of a heady mix of fragrances, an amalgamate of something floral with a hint of oriental spice and probably something citrus...

But I couldn't be farther from the truth because when the little bell on the door tinkled announcing my arrival, I smelled a concoction of sterility, floor cleaning agent and perhaps chapstick...
The French do not smile as do the Belgians or the Swiss and hence entering any establishment for the first time especially in Paris is not just intimidating but also overwhelming, which soon turns into awe followed by wonder and then sheer delight at the aisles after aisles and rows after rows of those super famous French brands like Vichy, La Roche Posay and Nuxe...

But this post is about smell and fragrances and even though I want to talk about perfumes and EDPs and EDTs, I cannot help but mention that all the skin and hair care products that I smelled, browsed and eventually bought have almost no fragrance. And with this I start my post about how to smell like French women...

1. Layer Intelligently

This is something I learned the hard way and then confirmed my belief in France... I used to buy my skincare from The Body Shop and their body butters are essentially either cocoa flavored or fruity smelling. Top that with a strong smelling shampoo and a oriental perfume like Davidoff Sensual Essence and you not only smell like a ladies washroom in a night club but also end up giving others around a migraine...

What I am trying to say here is that if the fragrance notes of your body cream does not compliment with your main perfume or your shampoo then all you are doing is creating a concoction that screams confusion and is seldom flattering...

So what is the way out? It's simple really and I picked it up in French pharmacies... Just pick up skincare and hair care products that have subtle fragrances so that they do not overpower your perfume :)

2. Try to not to smell like something edible

French women either smell like Spring (think floral) or mysteriously feminine (think warm musk) and this makes them appear not just seductive but confidently so... Walk the streets of Paris and the vibe that you get from the women is of sheer power. They know they look amazing and they know they smell potent and when woman knows this, no one can stop her...
I cannot even imagine a French woman smelling like chocolate, lemon or bubblegum!

3. Spray under your boobs & in your belly-button

Read any article about perfumes and every one of them harp about pulse points... The most common ones being wrists, behind the ears, temples, inside of the elbows, behind the knees etc... But a sure shot way of having your perfume emanate all day long is by spraying a generous amount under your boobs and inside of your navel... The underside of our boobs remain warm all day long and this makes it a congenial environment to activate your perfume and make you smell lovely all day long!

4. Spray your handkerchief & keep it in your bag/purse

I learned this by mistake really... I was in a pharmacy (again) in Geneva and was browsing the aisles of perfumes when I wanted to try on Chloe by Chloe. But I often don't like to spray "perfumes" on myself directly lest I don't like them and I end up with a headache. Hence, I took some perfume paper strips and sprayed the perfume on a couple of them and then while fanning them near my nose I wandered in the pharmacy...A sale of hand creams caught my fancy and I forgot all about the perfume and so not finding a waste paper basket nearby I simply stuffed the perfume paper strips into my purse and swatched the hand creams and finally bought a few...

While on my way back to my AirBnB apartment in the tram, I opened my purse to take my phone out when I realized everything around me started smelling heavenly!

The strips in my purse kept it smelling yummy for a few days continuously! When I got back to Pune, I googled this andit seems its been a trick of French women to spray some of their perfumes on a cotton handkerchief and keep it in their purses!

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